I loved the eerie feeling of this book but unfortunately it didn’t click for me. I wanted so much more out of this book than it gave me.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

I saw so many good things about this book and a lot of hype so I was so excited to read this. Unfortunately for me personally, this was a real up and down book for me. I struggled to connect with the characters. I felt like they all were a little superficial and flat for me. The pace was real back and forth on slow and quick, so some parts left me more uninterested than others. The prologue drew me in immediately but as the book progressed I just lost more and more interest. At times I felt the multilayered mystery was hard to keep track of who is who and what was what.

If you’re into a lot of characters, a slow build up and multilayered mystery type of story then this book is definitely for you.

I wanted to give 3 stars because I can appreciate the work that goes into writing a book and I think there was a lot of good characteristics to the book that some people will absolutely love but it just wasn’t fully to my liking and preferences.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten was, in my opinion, a thriller gone wrong. Ten years ago four young women had mysteriously disappeared. No trace of them was ever seen again. In the ensuing years, Irene, the sister of one of the women was in the process of opening a hotel on a very small island, the very island, as it turns out, where the women were murdered. Through the dual timeline, we see most of it happen. Now Tessa, unknowingly was going to a bachelorette party on this same island. Her life had fallen apart. She had been a popular true crime podcaster, but one of her podcasts had driven a grieving man to suicide and her life fell apart. She really had no interest in this weekend, but her sister, Lena, would also be there and was kind of forcing her to go. She liked Irene and she loved Anneliese, the bride. It would be OK. But, Tessa was the suspicious sort, and the cook, Adam seemed kind of off. Caroline, the psychologist, had to make an emergency trip back to the mainland for a patient. She promised to be back tomorrow. Then, things started going sideways. Tessa found Caroline’s body and when she returned to the group, they were gone. Only Michela was still with her.

I don’t love this type of psycho drama. Not sure how I ended up with this book. The characters were decent, all with back stories. All interesting. The plot was decent, but sick. Some people were drawn in unawares. People were hurt, and they were not all the island. It is billed a thriller and I guess it is. Just, not for me. I can’t fault the writing, or the plot, or the characters.

I was invited to read The Bachelorette Party by St Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #CamillaSten #TheBacheloretteParty

Thank you to SMP for sending me the invite to read this eARC!
First off: the atmosphere for this book was fantastic, and the COVER is beautiful. The descriptions set the scene very well. I almost always love dual timelines and it was done fairly well.

I found this book had some pacing issues, I felt mildly bored at times and didn't itch to pick it up and found it a bit predictable. I enjoyed my time with it and would recommend it, but it wasn't my new favourite book. It was overall worth the time and I'd check out future releases from Camilla Sten.

I was really looking forward to reading this one.. told in two timelines - past and present, which I usually enjoy.. I loved the island vibe/setting.. There are moments where I felt a little lost and the ending was guessable.. But overall, a good read..

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review..

First off…. THIS COVER IS GOREGOUS! It really makes a person want to pick up this book because of the colors and how well they go together!

Now to the book…..it was kind of slow and only kept me semi entertained. This wasn’t a book I was flipping pages for. I admit it took me longer to finish it because I didn’t find myself longing to pick it up.🤷🏼‍♀️ But I DID finish and enjoyed where it went. Was it a book I will rave about and remember? No. Was it the worst thing I have ever read? No. It was okay.

It is described as Scream meets The Guest List. I remember loving the movie Scream when I was a teen, but I haven’t read the book mentioned. We have four friends reuniting on an island for a bachelorette party. A brand new hotel that will be opening soon. And revenge. People start dying. Not the most original plot, I feel it has been done many times before, but I am also an avid thriller reader so many books I have read have similar plots. The twists were fine. But I won’t be able to tell you what happened in a week.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun ride. Did I guess the twist halfway through? Yes. But did I still devour this book? Also yes.

I also enjoyed how it wrapped up nicely. This was my first book by this author and definitely won't be my last.

This book hooked me right from the prologue! We get this great sense of tension that builds throughout the book. I was immediately invested in the characters and I stayed up way too late finishing this book. The story kept me guessing and has some great twists!

I would say this book would be a perfect #summerthriller or #beachread! It’s a great mix of drama and fun and betrayal and revenge. There are some dark moments (this is a thriller after all) and I was definitely on the edge of my seat!!

I loved the premise - we meet 4 friends who get together every year on a secluded island off the coast of Sweden….and then one year they go missing. 10 years later, Tessa has a true crime podcast and when she’s invited to a bachelorette party near where the women went missing she jumps at the chance to investigate and find out what happened to the women once and for all…

✨What To Expect:
🗝️Locked Room Thriller
🔪Scream x The Guest List
🔍Mystery & Suspense
🎙️True Crime Podcast
🌊Island Setting
🧘‍♀️Yoga Retreat
🍻Friendship Drama
💙Sisterly Bonds
🔥Revenge
⏰Multiple Timelines & POVs

This book had an opening scene that was quite impressive, leaving me eager to continue. I loved our MC, a down-on-her-luck podcaster obsessed with some local woman who went missing years ago on Isle Blind. The same place as her friend's bridal shower is about to take place. And as much as she isn't feeling the party mood, she wants nothing more than to explore this island and see if she can find any clues about what she thinks really happened to the missing women

I loved the isolated setting; the island definitely gave the perfect vibe for what was about to happen. Tessa is a great MC, she's smart, and determined to find the truth.

I had a great time with this book from beginning to end. The suspenseful moments are on point, and Tessa was someone I rooted for throughout the whole story.
I can't wait to see what Camilla Sten is going to come out with next!

Great summer thriller! The story follows Tessa, a true crime podcaster, who attends a bachelorette party at a yoga retreat on a remote Swedish island where four friends vanished years ago. As secrets unravel, the tension builds, keeping readers engaged. The dual timelines and shifting perspectives add depth to the narrative. I did find the writing a bit formulaic and the pacing uneven at times. This did not stop me from enjoying the book, quite honestly I almost expect and/or want this from my summer thrillers! Overall, it's a captivating read for fans of suspenseful thrillers.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten is a psychological thriller that takes place on a remote island in Sweden.

10 years ago, four women disappeared from an overnight trip they take every year. This year, the women seemed to hold secrets from each other, and they seemed to be drifting apart. Matilda, was pregnant. She didn’t tell anyone but had a feeling this would be her last trip to the Island for a while. Little did she know, this would be the final trip anywhere for all of them. The authorities believed they went out in a boat, and never made it back to shore. End of story. But many other people don’t believe that was what really happened.

Flash forward 10 years, Tessa was a well know podcaster, until one episode ruined her career. She was however still obsessed with true crime, including the missing four women from a decade before. When she is invited to her friend’s bachelorette party, on what is believed to be the same island, she jumps at the chance of uncovering the true story of what happened to the missing women and reigniting her now defunct podcast.

The story is told from 2 timelines, Matilda’s in 2012 and Tessa in 2022. It flows seamlessly, even though the names are all so similar! The setting is beautiful yet ominous, you know something bad is going to happen, you just can’t imagine what. The last third of the book is un-put-down-able! I flew through it and was shocked by the twist that was taken and the secrets that were exposed. It is sad, violent and dark, with one of the main characters being part of the LGBTQ+ community (Go Pride Month), with some very unlikeable characters. It was delicious.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Minotaur Books, and Camilla Sten for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC copy of The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten.

I am always super excited to see a new Camilla Sten novel appear, and was excitedly surprised when I saw The Bachelorette Party. If you haven't read her previous novels, I highly recommend you do!

The Bachelorette Party, like Camilla Sten's previous novels, is a thriller that will grab you and won't let you go until the very end. Blending eerie isolation with sleek suspense of a modern-day true crime podcast, the novel is chilling and addictive.

Set against the moody backdrop of a remote Swedish island, the story follows Tessa Nilsson, a disgraced podcast host desperate to revive her career-and solve a cold case that has haunted her for over a decade. The vanishing of four lifelong friends, who disappeared without a trace during what should've been a carefree annual tradition, is the kind of mystery that lingers. And when Tessa's best friend chooses a hauntingly similar island for her bachelorette party, the past and present collide in the most unsettling way.

The pacing is incredibly sharp and the story unfolds in layers of secrets, betrayals, and twists. Every character, from vulnerable yet determined Tessa to the cryptic island staff, is drawn with enough depth to keep you guessing who can be trusted-and who can't. What the novel really elevates is the atmosphere. The island setting is vividly realized, equal parts idyllic and menacing, and it is used to full effect. It is like you are there too, feeling the chill of Baltic water, the wind moving through the trees, and that uncomfortable feeling of someone watching you.

The Bachelorette Party is more than just a mystery. It's a meditation on friendship, obession, and the fine line between justice and revenge. Like me, I believe that readers will devour this book in one sitting and sit on it for a while just to process what they just read.

Isolated thrillers are my favorite and this one starts off with a bang. The pacing is done well throughout and the story moves quickly, with small details being revealed as you move through. I thought there would be more to do with Tessa’s podcast fallout but it really didn’t come into play much. The ending is definitely splashy and a bit gory so if that is your thing than check this one out!

The Bachelorette Party, a suspense thriller felt more like a horror story to me. Four friends, Tessa; her sister and two friends visit Isle Blind, a remote and rocky island on the Baltic Sea on a prewedding getaway. Ten years before, four other women went missing on the same island, including the sister of the hotel owner. The setting and cold case story sounded interesting and I was excited about the book. My three star rating was based on the difficulty I had connecting with the characters, the confusion keeping track of timelines, the dozen or more characters many with names that sounded alike and the predictable storyline. Positives for me was the book was a fast read and was suspensful. I would recommend this book for readers of suspense and horror, reminiscent of Friday the 13th, etc. Unfortunately, this was just not for me.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I kind of feel like nothing really happened for like 75% of this book. I only really found two things really interesting in this book the whole backstory about Tessa's podcasting downfall and then the last 25% of the book. For the whole plot to be about Tessa trying to find out what happened to the Nacka Four she does basically no real investigating herself. The majority of the book just felt like her wandering around the island and being suspicious of things until the first major plot point.

It was also kind of obvious the big twist towards the end. 2.5 stars rounded up

⭐️⭐️⭐️½ – The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten
A moody island, a decades-old mystery, a disgraced podcaster desperate for redemption—The Bachelorette Party serves up a dark and twisty "locked room" thriller with plenty of suspense, even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing.

Tessa Nilsson once had a thriving true crime podcast, but after a very public fall from grace, she’s clinging to one last thread of purpose: the mystery of four women who vanished from a secret island retreat ten years ago. So when her best friend’s bachelorette weekend lands her on a suspiciously similar island? You better believe she packs her mic (and her emotional baggage) for one last attempt at answers.

The book alternates between the present-day yoga-and-cava chaos and the past friendship of Tilly, Anna, Linnea, and Evelina. The dual timelines are easy to follow, the pacing is quick, and the setting—isolated, cold, and quietly eerie—is deliciously atmospheric. I also appreciated how easy it was to keep track of the characters. (Nothing worse than needing a flowchart halfway through a thriller.)

But here’s the thing: while the premise is gripping and the stakes are high, the execution feels a bit uneven. The twists are fun but mostly predictable, and the story leans heavily on exposition. Instead of letting us experience the tension, the book often tells us what to feel, which takes away some of the punch.

Still, I really liked Tessa as a main character—flawed, determined, and just reckless enough to chase the truth into dangerous territory. And the themes of friendship, betrayal, and long-held secrets kept me intrigued, even when I guessed where it was going.

Final verdict:
If you enjoy closed-circle mysteries, messy female friendships, and a cold Nordic setting, this one is worth the read—just don’t expect every twist to surprise you.

Such a great read! Loved the characters in this book. I don’t want to give anything away, suffice to say that there are plenty of twists and turns to keep everyone interested. Very enjoyable!

This was a great book. Loved the story behind the creepy island. I liked all the backstory with the characters and how Tessa connected with the island. Loved the flashbacks. A great read!

This atmospheric tale has all the Nordic noir vibes I’m learning I really enjoy! I loved the settling in the Stockholm archipelago, and the dual timeline structure was perfect. Tessa was a character I was very invested in throughout the story, and the author did a wonderful job crafting character dynamics. I will definitely read more from this author.

A twisty locked-room thriller with tropical vibes—perfect for beach days when you want your escape read with a side of suspense.

📖 The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten
Rating: 3.5+⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was a quick addictive read. I enjoyed it. Dual timelines. Intense, good creep factor, light horror, dark & moody. It’s a Locked room type mystery, so dive in and just go along for the ride.

Think Scream meets I Know What You Did Last Summer with tropical vibes. This would be a good “escape” read on vacation or at the beach if you enjoy a quick mystery thriller during the summer.

And of course I love the cover 🩷

Another book I enjoyed by this author is The Resting Place. Also dual timelines and set at a strange, atmospheric and eerie estate. Perfect for a Fall read with its unique plot and wintery setting.